Tim Walz's Brother Does Not Support Him — And He Donated to Donald Trump in 2016

The entire story of Kamala Harris's presidential campaign is wild, but perhaps no piece of it is more unexpected than the rise of Tim Walz. The Minnesota governor started the vice presidential race as a bit of an underdog but proved through his skill as a communicator that he could be an asset to the campaign.

Thus far, Walz has not had many missteps, but just recently, his older brother surfaced on Facebook. Following the news that Tim had an older brother, many wanted to learn more about him, and about why he's decided not to support his brother in the election.

Tim Walz's brother is Jeff Walz, a 67-year-old man who appears to be less than thrilled about his brother's political rise. In a series of Facebook posts first spotted by The New York Post, Jeff said that his brother is “not the type of character you want making decisions about your future." He also said that he was "100 percent opposed" to his candidacy.

Jeff also said that he would be willing to endorse Trump in the 2024 race, which is perhaps unsurprising, given that he donated to Trump's campaign back in 2016.

“I’ve thought long and hard about doing something like that! I’m torn between that and just keeping my family out of it," he reportedly said when asked if he would be interested in joining Trump at a rally.

According to reporting in the Post, Walz and his brother are estranged, and the two have not spoken in eight years. They also have a sister, 63, named Sandy Dietrich, and lost another brother, Craig, at age 44 after he was struck by a falling tree in 2016.

The reason behind the rift between Walz and his brother remains unclear, but the two brothers clearly have very different political beliefs.

Although the rift between them is apparently more recent, Jeff and his brother have had different political views for decades. Given the timing of the rift around the 2016 election, it seems possible that the two could have had some sort of falling out over their differences in politics. It's also possible, though, that there was something else that split the two brothers. Jeff now lives in the Florida panhandle, and like his brother, is a former teacher.

While it may seem remarkable that Walz has a brother who will not endorse him, it's worth remembering that this is also true for several members of Donald Trump's family. Until Jeff says more about the specific reasons he and his brother are not on speaking terms, it's hard to determine who might be in the right and who is in the wrong.

For now, all we know is that Tim Walz has a brother who sees politics very differently than he does. In a country as divided as the United States, that probably shouldn't come as that much of a surprise.